Gareth Williams (featured image), Skyscanner’s co-founder and chief executive officer, is to take up a new role as chair of the Edinburgh-based metasearch engine.
Replacing Williams, who co-founded the company in 2003, as CEO is chief technology officer Bryan Dove.
“I’m very excited to take on the role of chairperson where more of my focus will be on Skyscanner’s long-term vision,” says Williams.
Bryan Dove is Skyscanner’s new CEO.
“Former CTO Bryan Dove is a natural fit as my successor, having been pivotal in shaping our current strategy and structure. He has a wealth of experience and is additionally supported by a brilliant senior leadership team.”
Dove, who joined Skyscanner in 2015, brought with him more than 15 years of engineering experience. Prior to joining Skyscanner he was a director of engineering at Amazon Web Services’ S3.
Commenting on the transition Dove says: “Gareth is a tremendous leader and I’m delighted to continue working with him in his role as chairperson. I’ve never been more excited or optimistic about Skyscanner’s future and our ability to make a positive impact on travellers and partners around the world.”
Since its launch in 2003 Skyscanner has moved from flight comparison to include hotels and car hire. Its service, with over 70 million monthly active users, is now available in over 30 languages and in markets across the world.
The company received investment from Silicon Valley based Sequoia Capital, among others. In late 2016 Chinese travel giant Ctrip acquired Skyscanner in a deal valued over £1.4bn. The travel company remains operationally independent and acquired London-based user-generated content business Twizoo in November last year.
• Watch the short video of Williams explaining the switch in roles.
• All images credit: Skyscanner
